APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY: FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES

• Begin with appreciation

  "Inquiry into the art of the possible in organizational life begins with appreciation."

  Every system works to some degree, and a primary task of management and members in organizations is to discover, describe and explain those Œexceptional moments¹ which give life to the system and activate members¹ competencies and energies. The appreciative approach takes its inspiration from Œwhat is.¹ Valuing, learning, and inspired understanding - these are the aims of the appreciative spirit.

• Application

  "Inquiry into what is possible must be applicable."

  An important focus of organizational study is to lead to the generation of knowledge that can be used, applied and validated in action. A central component of management is to know organizations. Knowing sets the stage for the practical decisions required of members of the organization.

  The aim of an appreciative inquiry is to generate new knowledge which expands the "realm of the possible" and helps members of an organization envision a collectively desired future and to carry forth that vision in ways that success-fully translate images into possibility, intentions into reality and belief into practice.

• Provocative Propositions

  "Inquiry into what is possible is provocative."

  An organization is an open-ended, indeterminate system capable of becoming more than it is at any given moment and of learning how to actively take part in guiding its own evolution.

  Appreciative knowledge of Œwhat is¹ becomes provocative to the extent that the learning takes on a normative value for members. In this way appreciative inquiry allows us to use systematic management analysis to help the organization¹s members shape an effective future according to their own imaginative and moral purposes.

• Collaborative Interaction and Action

  "Inquiry into the human potential of organizational life must be collaborative."

  This principle assumes an inseparable relationship between the process of inquiry and its content. A unilateral approach to the study of social innovation is a direct negation of the phenomenon itself.

  In its most practical construction, appreciative inquiry is a form of organizational study that selectively seeks to locate, highlight and illuminate what are referred to as the "life-giving" forces of the organization¹s existence.

  1. See Cooperrider, DL & Srivastva, S in "Appreciative Inquiry in Organizational Life" in Woodman & Pasmore (eds.) Research on Organizational Change and Development Vol.1, JAI Press, 1987

  2. See Cooperrider, DL, "Positive Image, Positive Action: The Affirmative Basis of Organizing" in Srivastva & Cooperrider & Associates, Appreciative Management and Leadership, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. 1990

  Based on Carter, Srivastva, and Cooperrider, & adapted by Royal. Revised by Stewart 1998

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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it 's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Copyright 1998, 1999 Pancultural Associates, Inc. Last updated 16 May 1999